July 26, 2008

Dress=Top=Dress

I woke up this morning ready to tackle the Hot Patterns Wong-Singh-Jones Kimono Wrap Dress, other projects in the queue be damned (I know, I think I have adult ADD). I thought about it all day yesterday and couldn’t wait to get started! You see, this dress has been on my to-do list forever. I had it in my head that I wanted to use two solids or a solid and a print but just haven’t found two fabrics that were perfect so I decided to just go ahead and make it in a print for now. I’m sure even the Hot Patterns Team is sick and tired of my endless versions of the Cosmopolitan Dress!

As I headed to the sewing room this morning I poked my head into the exercise room (where my cutting table used to be) and saw this:

A dress version of Jalie 2793 that I cut out months ago. For some reason I just lost interest in it after it was all cut out. I think I was dreading sewing with the stretch Illusion I was using for the contrast. That stuff is never fun to sew, sort of like handling vermicelli (the worm or the spaghetti). The fabric is a gorgeous rayon/lycra from Textile Studios which made me feel a little guilty. Okay, a lot guilty. So, I grabbed the sad little pile of fabric and continued on my way to the sewing room.

I often look at top and dress patterns interchangeably. A top can become a dress and a dress can become a top. Since this top was already flared at the hip I simply chalked the extra length directly onto the fabric. If you are working with a fitted top it’s easiest to pull out a favorite dress pattern and marry the two at the waist.

I thought it would be pretty to use black stretch Illusion for the neckline, the modesty panel and the sleeve bands. Awhile back I used it for the bands on this Jalie 2449 top and really liked the effect. And, yes, I sewed all of those little paillettes on individually, by hand. Tedious but worth it.

Sewing with the Illusion didn’t turn out to be so bad. Rather than serging, I used a very narrow zigzag to stitch all of the enclosed seams. I originally wanted to zigzag over black elastic thread to stabilize the neckline but I didn’t have any and, as it turned out, I really didn’t need it anyway. I then carefully trimmed the seam allowances down to 1/8″ with my rotary cutter. In retrospect, I could have used my perling machine. Oh well, I just didn’t think of it!

This left me with a nice neat seam. To make it a little easier to handle I machine basted the outer edges together after turning and pressing. The fabric can be wiggly and I didn’t want anything slipping out of place during serging. Yikes, I really need to recover my pressing board.

I debated whether or not the modesty panel was necessary. I decided to go ahead with it because I knew the weight of the fabric would pull the neckline down a bit. During fitting, I was really glad I did! As you can see, this would be pretty risque without the panel.

Here’s a better photo on the mannequin – I take the worst mirror pictures of anyone in the online sewing community.

I love the way the Illusion looks on the sleeves!

Here’s the completed dress. It needs shortening and hemming but I’m going to let it hang out for a day before I finish up. Doesn’t it always feel so good to complete a UFO and hang a new garment in one’s closet?

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19 Comments

Your use of the stretch shear is great–it is a nice departure from a rather predictable solid textile, and makes this top much more ‘designer’ looking. This is a tip worth trying on my next banded tunic top.

I also use the same type of stretch sheer as an edging when I want cut down the crew neck on a “T” shirt neckline. A narrow folded strip is applied to the new cut edge. I use the same process that I would normally use to apply or serge on a knit ribbing.

I’ve used the ‘shorten dress into a top/lengthen and widen top to make a dress thing’ several times. I’m always on the look out for vintage Vogue blouse and top patterns because during certain periods, they had wonderful blouse patterns to use.

Gigi, Thanks for the info. I don’t have access to JoAnn’s, so I ran over (with my fingers naturally) to Lucy’s Fabrics otherwise known as lucysfabrics.com. I asked Laura to come take a look at your dress and mesh fabric and whether any of her mesh in stock was suitable. She sent me a long list (fabulous service) to choose from.
My mesh arrived this morning and it is truly wonderful, so now I can go copy your dress. Thanks so much for sharing and imparting your wonderful taste and skill.